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SAT: Build Your Vocabulary with Chapter 16 of Twilight

Use this chapter from Defining Twilight — written by Brian Leaf for CliffsNotes — side-by-side with your own copy of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight to build your vocabulary and improve your score on the SAT, ACT, GED, or SSAT exams. The chapter gives you eight words taken from Twilight, with page references for you to read the words in the context of Stephenie Meyer'spopular novel. Based on how the word is used in Twilight, guess at its definition; then check your answers, write the exact definitions, and reread the sentence in Twilight where each word appears. Then complete the rest of the test prep example questions.

Defining Twilight

Find each of the following words on the Twilight page number provided. Based on the way each word is used in the book, guess at its definition.

Reverent (p. 339) might mean what?

Blatant (p. 345) might mean what?

Vivid (p. 347) might mean what?

Bracken (p. 364) might mean what?

Tersely (p. 372) might mean what?

Apathy (p. 374) might mean what?

Gait (p. 375) might mean what?

Urbane (p. 376) might mean what?

Answers

Let's see how you did. Check your answers, write the exact definitions, and reread the sentence in Twilight where each word appears. Then complete the drills.

Bracken (p. 364) means ferns. I lived near the Olympic Peninsula for one year, and there were a plethora (myriad, profusion) of ferns. They love the damp shade. Bella falls a lot, so she must get a lot of mud and bracken on the back of her jacket.

Tersely (p. 372) means briefly. Terse was a synonym for curt (brief and rude) in Group 27. The other synonyms (also more rude)were brusque, laconic, and surly (hostile).

Apathy (p. 374) means lack of interest. Remember from Group 27 that a- means without and path refers to feeling. This word was a synonym for indifferent in Group 28. The other synonym was dispassionate.

Gait (p. 375) means style of walking, like a horse's gait. This word was particularly clear in the context of the sentence, "Their walk was catlike . . . " Remember to look at the context when you see a word that you don't know; usually you can determine its meaning. You've seen a bunch of gaits in this workbook-sauntering, flitting, shambling, lumbering, and ambling.

Urbane (p. 376) means courteous and refined. This word comes from the word urban, meaning city, from the notion that city folk are polished and refined. James, Laurent, and Victoria stood like animals, while Carlisle stood like the refined gentleman that he is.

Synonyms

Select the word whose meaning is closest to the word in capital letters.

1. REVERENT

offhand

flippant

cavalier

brusque

respectful

2. BLATANT

subtle

muted

surreptitious

obvious

furtive

3. TERSE

verbose

brief

apathetic

vivid

rhetorical

4. URBANE

polished

tyrannical

impassive

vile

melancholy

Analogies

Select the answer choice that best completes the meaning of the sentence.

5. Amble is to gait as

vivid is to color

tyrant is to leader

vile is to reverence

etiquette is to chasm

vampire is to seraph

6. Terse is to verbose as

urbane is to impudent

lancet is to surgeon

alluring is to appealing

menacing is to threatening

inept is to incompetent

Sentence Completions

Choose the word that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Etiquette (conduct) is a type of chasm (deep gap) . . . no, they are unrelated.

Vampire is a type of seraph (angel) . . . depends which vampire.

Remember to make your sentence as specific as possible. However, sometimes a sentence might not work for any of the choices. For example, "amble is a relaxed gait" is an excellent sentence, more specific than "amble is a type of gait," but no answer would seem to work. When that happens, reword your sentence or choose the closest answer choice.

6. A. "Terse (brief) is the opposite of verbose (wordy)."

Urbane (polished) is the opposite of impudent (rude) . . . yes.

Lancet (surgical knife) is the opposite of surgeon . . . no, a lancet is used by a surgeon.